Here at the library, we like information. Sure, we’re word people, but if you scratch the surface, you’ll find that many of us are also very excited about numbers.
And statistics. And spreadsheets. And graphs.
Identifying and sharing useful information in a way that is easy to understand is right up our alley.
Numbers can reveal trends about our community’s reading habits, as well. Now that we’re a few weeks into 2026, we can look back and see which books and movies Jackson County Library patrons checked out the most last year. Intrigued? Let’s go on this journey together.
For these purposes, we looked at five different categories: Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Teen Fiction, Children’s Fiction, and Adult DVDs. Those are some of the library’s most used collections and tend to show trends in what is popular. Let’s go through section by section.
Adult Fiction
Unsurprisingly, the list of Adult Fiction titles that Jackson County patrons checked out the most have many titles in common with the year’s bestseller lists. But since our metric is the most checkouts over 12 months, not the most checkouts in a given week, the list shifts a little bit toward books that people want to read but are willing to wait for, rather than books that people want to read the minute they are published. That’s a decent argument for how libraries and bookstores fill related but complementary needs in their communities.
For the full list, look here. You’ll see familiar names like James Patterson, Louise Penny, and Fredrik Backman, as well as the phenomenon that was James by Percival Everett and the beautifully written The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong.
Adult Nonfiction
Another difference I’ve noted between our lists and the bestseller lists is that interest in checking these books out lingers after they are out of the newly-published headlines. Books like The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which was published in November of 2024, continued to check out in 2025 because of enduring interest. That interest might also be increased locally, since JCLS featured her book, Braiding Sweetgrass, as our Rogue Reads title a couple of years ago.
Some titles on our Adult Nonfiction list are also prominent on the national bestsellers, though (books like The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan or Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green). So while it seems like we do have regional interests, the big names are still a draw for JCLS patrons.
Teen Fiction
The big story for our Teen list is that Sunrise on the Reaping, the second Hunger Games prequel, was published in 2025. The first book in the series, along with both prequels, is featured on our list. It is kind of fun to see these series endure. Anecdotally, it seems like the readers are a combination of teens reading the series for the first time and older readers eager to revisit a world they first enjoyed almost 20 years ago. You read that right. The Hunger Games was published in 2008. Which was 18 years ago. Ooof.
Other old YA favorites that still attract readers in Jackson County are Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (published 2005), The Throne of Glass series by Sara Maas (2012), and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (2018). I’m crediting the enduring appeal of these series to the Romantasy trend. While Twilight is Paranormal Romance, not Romantasy, it laid an important foundation for the surge in popularity of Fantasy Romance titles. Throne of Glass is solidly Romantasy, and Cruel Prince is more High Fantasy with a romantic subplot. But readers hungry for more Romantasy will reach for all of those.
We also have one Romance book with a modern, non-fantasy setting, The Summer I Turned Pretty, by Jenny Han. It is also an older title, first published in 2009, but a TV series adaptation of the books ran from 2023-2025, indicating the power of crossover appeal between storytelling formats.
Children’s Fiction
The Children’s Fiction list is pretty straightforward, with Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants and Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid books still reigning supreme after almost 30 years and 19 years in publication respectively. It helps that they keep putting out new books and spin-offs, but it goes to show that kids like silly books. Honestly, these books don’t always appeal to grown-ups, but kids love them. And motivation is key when building reading skills, so three cheers for Wimpy Kid and Captain Underpants, I say.
We also have appearances by the Magic Tree House and Wild Robot series, neither of which will be a surprise to people who know current children’s books.
DVDs
The hottest DVDs at JCLS are a combination of award winners and blockbusters and a couple of popular TV series. We always have an uptick in borrows for films that do well at the Academy Awards, so it is no surprise that Wicked and Conclave both made the list for 2025. A Complete Unknown is also on there, and Oppenheimer is on the list for the second year in a row. Deadpool and Wolverine, as well as Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, demonstrate our community’s range of interests, and the whole list would be a fun one to work your way through. Lots of variety.
Overall, I think the adult lists will be useful for catching up on recent publications, as well as reading (and viewing) trends. The Teen and Children’s lists lean more heavily into established favorites, so they function more as evidence of the enduring appeal of extremely popular series for those age groups. When you want some recommendations for excellent new books for children and teens, come talk to our staff, or explore some of the Best Books lists out there, such as the Association for Library Services to Children’s list of Notable Books of 2025.
Here are all the JCLS lists in one place, along with other recommendations from our staff. I encourage you to browse through them and place holds those that you missed. Or congratulate yourself on how well you’re keeping up with your community’s favorite titles. Onward to another year of reading!